Connect - Schneider Electric
Connect - Schneider Electric
Connect - Schneider Electric
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4 TRENDS<br />
BUSINESS REVIEW<br />
IN SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC’S CORE MARKETS<br />
> 1. Trends in <strong>Schneider</strong> <strong>Electric</strong>’s core<br />
markets<br />
Industries and machine manufacturers<br />
The industry and machine manufacturers markets continued to<br />
grow signifi cantly in 2011, in the continuity of the sharp rebound<br />
experienced since the economic cycle trough in May 2009.<br />
The dynamics during the year changed though, from a buoyant<br />
start of year, somewhat amplifi ed by the Fukushima earthquake<br />
(customers anticipating orders for fear of electronic components<br />
shortages), towards a weaker second semester, when the OEMs<br />
(original equipment manufacturers) sector in North East Asia (China,<br />
Korea, Taiwan, Japan) was affected by the tight credit policy led by<br />
China government to curb infl ation. However, China infrastructure<br />
and mining sectors continued to grow.<br />
Investments in Western Europe were as well impacted in the second<br />
part of the year, due to the uncertainty generated by the sovereign<br />
crisis, while the US markets enjoyed a relative resilience, notably in<br />
the last four months of the year.<br />
Non residential buildings<br />
In the US, non-residential construction declined on an annual basis,<br />
but experienced signs of sequential improvement starting during the<br />
second semester. Front runners were healthcare, private education,<br />
retail and manufacturing buildings. European countries suffered<br />
from the sovereign debt crisis and austerity measures. In new<br />
e conomies, the non-residential construction market experienced a<br />
dynamic activity generated by the powerful process of urbanisation.<br />
<strong>Schneider</strong> <strong>Electric</strong> solutions and services are designed to monitor<br />
and control system for buildings effi ciency. Our solutions integrate<br />
Residential<br />
In the US, residential construction market sector was negatively<br />
impacted notably by low consumer confi dence and tight lending<br />
conditions. However, starts of multi-family housing has improved<br />
throughout the year, from a very weak level.<br />
In the Eurozone, after a harsh fall of output between 2008 and<br />
2010, the residential market has slightly improved in 2011. Note<br />
that this trend is characterized by large disparities across countries.<br />
On one hand, Iberian countries are still undergoing strong decline<br />
in investment and facing high levels of outstanding inventories.<br />
144 2011 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC<br />
Beyond these regions, very positive evolution of emerging markets,<br />
such as South and Central Americas, Russia, South East Asia,<br />
driven by water and mining investments.<br />
The political events in the Mediterranean countries affected the<br />
investments and projects, notably those linked to Water (Egypt,<br />
Lybia). In the rest of the world, the standardization of the water<br />
treatment plants and a more comprehensive management of<br />
the whole water cycle in large urban environments sustained the<br />
investments.<br />
The mining , minerals and metals sectors grew substantially this year,<br />
with signifi cant investments in countries such as Brazil, Canada,<br />
Russia, and, in the later part of the year, also in Australia, driven<br />
both by the increased consumption of raw materials and a concern<br />
to control and reduce energy consumption.<br />
access control, video surveillance, HVAC, and lighting control on<br />
an open standard systems to maximize buildings effi ciency by<br />
improving the energy consumption and safety of a building.<br />
In 2011, <strong>Schneider</strong> <strong>Electric</strong> has reinforced its Building Energy<br />
and Occupancy Management offer with the integration of Vizelia<br />
and D5X. <strong>Schneider</strong> <strong>Electric</strong> has also acquired Summit Energy, a<br />
Strategic Energy Sourcing leader and Viconics, offering an exciting<br />
suite of wireless thermostats.<br />
Meanwhile, countries such as France are in an intermediate pace<br />
essentially thanks to the support of new housing construction. On<br />
the other hand, Germany and Scandinavian countries have been<br />
far less affected by the debt crisis with a housing market which is<br />
even growing. In Asia Pacifi c, residential construction was relatively<br />
fast growing. In Japan and New Zealand, the end of the year<br />
was marked by large fl ows of reconstruction due to earthquakes<br />
destructions. Finally, in new economies, positive demographic and<br />
urbanisation trends drove the housing constructions.